Should I consider upgrading to Windows 7 or 8, since XP support is ending soon?

I have three machines running Windows XP with very few problems, but I see that Microsoft will soon stop supporting this operating system in 2014. I know it is a probably a bit early to ask since we just started the new year, but I wanted your thoughts on this. Do you think I should start considering the move to upgrading my systems to Windows 7 or 8 for safety and security reasons? Or to remember the old adage "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." What would you do? Thanks.

After buying a new laptop with Win 8 installed, I compared it with Win 7 on a comparable laptop. First, though, I need to tell you that neither system supports Touch Screen technology. With that being said, I regret getting Win8!

When MS stated Win 8 was faster, they lied, it isn't. It's actually MUCH slower as far as loading and start up is concerned. It also drags when loading apps. Win 7 runs circles around 8 on everything. It takes more mouse clicks to start an app, it loads slower, wait time is remarkably slow, even logging in takes several seconds longer than Win 7. 20 to 30 seconds longer! The screen density leaves a lot to be desired, too. It may be that 8 works much better with a Touch Screen, I don't know. I've tried it on a system (an All-In-One, in the local retail store, and it seems to be Ok for that, but to use it in Real Time, That I haven't done. Can't afford the $2000 the system costs.

Win XP is great, and Win 7 is better. BUT Win XP runs better than 8. Since you gotta upgrade, Win 7 is the target of choice. Pro version allows you to run XP software and the HomeGroup feature (which is a feature of all 7 versions) is VERY useful.

If he is using a good anti-malware program (eg. Norton internet security with firewall, etc.) with his Xp PCs, upgrading to Win7 or 8 still offer additional security?Pleae note that he is not concerned about minor performance gains or fancy new features and XP is serving his needs just fine.

Both those OSs use the NT6 kernel; and when using the 64 bit version, you have WAY more protections to the operating system. Especially with Internet Explorer 10 that comes with Win8. However - even if you run as a restricted user on XP; you can do pretty well.

On my systems I run avast, IOBit ASC6, Malware Fighter, and Zone Alarm. Same versions I ran on XP. No problems.

On the issue of Security, Win 8 doesn't seem to be any better or worse than Win 7 or even XP. Since it is a fairly new release, the hacker community hasn't had time to design an effective attack so it will be some time before we can echo MS's claim. Hey, they wrote the OS but couldn't build an effective maintenance package that works effectively so how can we accept their claims?

I catch your drift - I feel the same way, so I do what I like to call "Honey pot" work with malware to find out just how good the NT5 and NT6 security really is. As far as I'm concerned as long as you run as a limited account user, and don't turn off the UAC, the new technology 64 bit security of the NT6 Windows kernel is pretty hard to breach. I would say it almost reaches the same level as a good Unix based system.

However; even Unix or other FOSS solutions, can be weakened by vulnerable applications. The true key to modern PC security is to keep all java and Adobe flash, etc. and operating system fully updated, and DON'T click on fake alerts which will destroy any and all security you have no matter what platform you run on.

Unless you have XP SP3 you don't have an upgrade path to Windows 8 so Windows 7 would be your only choice. Even still with Windows 7 you may need to purchase graphic cards to have the complete look and feel of Windows 7. XP has been out for 11 years so the big question is how old are your systems? You may find that the best decision is to start saving to replace the systems all together. I had Windows 7 running on my old Dell Pentium 4 with an updated graphics card. As soon as I could afford to do so I purchased a bare bones kit with a triple core processor and I'm glad I did. Right now I have 1 system running W 7 with a dual boot to Linux. I have 2 others running W 8. If your going to upgrade go with Windows 8 it is the latest from Microsoft and with current price it's a good deal. Why spend $$ on W 7 which is a 4 yr old SW. If you really want to go cutting edge the go with Linux! and it's FREE!

Why mess up a perfectly good XP ? If security is the reason , we have great anti-virus protection as well as anti-malware , add ons for the newest and safest web browsers ever such as Chrome and Firefox (why worry about IE?) not to mention we have tools like WOT (Web Of Trust) and Adblock Plus. If XP does everything you want in an OS ..Keep It . It's still a very stable OS. If you were Real Worried about security you wouldn't be using Windows in Any Flavor anyway, you'd head right to a Linux distro. Just my opinion...Dig

Seriously, it simply makes no sense to continue to use the tired, bloated, relatively slow and insecure Windows XP any longer. Both Windows 7 and 8 are more stable, more secure, more user friendly, and faster operating systems. I built and manage three computers in our small office and have built over 70 over the years. I've switched exclusively to Windows 8 because it is faster, more stable, more forgiving, and more secure than Windows 7.

The objections to Windows 8 revolve around the loss of the Start button and menus on the desktop -- but that is easily overcome with the $4.99 application Start8 from http://www.stardock.com which restores the Start button to the desktop as well as the menus and easily enables you to boot directly into the desktop (there are a slew of other utilities that do the same, but Start8 does it best; some of the others are pretty unstable and just plain wiggy). I've upgraded or built from scratch 6 Windows 8 computers so far; four 64-bit and two 32-bit. I've had no problem installing and running such ancient programs as Lotus WordPro 9.8 and Corel Ventura Publisher 10 --neither of which has been updated since the glory days of Windows XP. The keys to installing these older programs is to change the properties of their installation file (like setup.exe) to "Run as Administrator" and "Run in Windows XP compatibility mode" -- right click the installation file and select "properties". After you install an older program, you might also want right click its executable file (like wordpro.exe), select properties, and tell it to run in Windows XP compatibility mode. Chances are good that you can google your favorite older program and find instructions on how to install it in Windows 7 (which almost always works for Windows 8 as well).

All that being said, be aware that you'll need to do a fresh install of Windows 8 since there is no direct upgrade from Windows XP -- which should give you some idea of how different Windows 8 (and 7) is under the covers than Windows XP. While some folk here counsel sticking with Windows XP, I urge you not to be afraid of change (after all if we were so afraid of change, we'd still be working in DOS and very few people would be using PCs at all). The PC world is full of folks uncomfortable with change -- don't be one of them. Switching to Windows 8 from XP is not changing for the sake of change. It's changing for something a whole lot better and easier to use.

Why call XP tired. If it don't need mending don't fix it. If someone's use of a computer is for some word processing, spreadsheets, powerpoint, surfing the internet and sending a few e-mails XP is perfectly adequate. Windows 7 and 8 are more to do with Microsoft needing to keep ringing it's tills than providing good operating systems. Better still, use Linux.

Sorry to go "LOL" at you, but you just said XP is "perfectly adequate" for surfing the internet, when it doesn't even support IE9 and HTML5, and users won't have the benefit of additional security patches after next year? And what are the odds of all these anti-virus/anti-spyware programs still supporting XP once Microsoft stops supporting it?

Hang on there, TN. IE9 isn't the only game in town for HTML5! I'll admit, I'm no fan of IE anything, but Firefox and Chrome both support HTML5 without difficulty. They also work well on XP, 7, & 8. You're giggling alone on that one, pal.

Wait until Spring 2014, then search for a refurbished PC in appropriate markets and ensure that your final choice has Windows 7 plus several or many valuable software programmes pre-installed. This way, you will avoid almost all compatibility issues and will save a lot of money in the process. Hang on to the principle of finding what you want - even if you run on into the unsupported XP period until you get it. Working throughout 2014 on XP will not involve a disaster. Softly, softly: catchee monkey.

To me it would depend on how old the XP computers are - what kind of hardware is in them. A late model low hour XP computer with a 2.4 ghz dual core or better processor might be worth it but an older sub 2.0 ghz dual or any single core would probably not be. I'm going to up my XP machine to W7 because its a late model,low hour, and powerful XP machine and I'm going to use the 32 bit version of W7! I accidentally wound up with a friends W7 Dell Vostro desktop. Being an early W7 machine from the business division it came with the 32 bit version. It is fast* and I found that most of my valuable XP programs installed and run great on it. Even Photoshop Elements 2.0! It all worked so nice I'm gonna pull the business 160 Gb hd & dvd rom out and stick a 1Tb hd and dvd burner back in! Oh yeah, I've played with W8 too and I'd stick with W7. Aside from the issues with W8 most mention like the Start button, W8 is the first OS from MS that requires a .Net Passport ID be set up before you can take full advantage of the OS. Many of those things make keeping track of what you do as easy as Android makes it! Unless MS can figure out how to eliminate that type of OS from home computers and stay in business, my next new computer 3-4 years from now will run Linux! Who am I kidding? The world is moving to a cloud synced & apped system and I'm sure they will figure out how to make Linux toe the line by then too.

*The 32 bit W7 Vostro has a 3.0 ghz core2 duo and only 2 gb of dual channel DDR2 RAM but it will smoke a 64 bit W7 2.3 ghz core i3 with 4 gb of DDR3 RAM friends computer. This is my first dual channel RAM computer and the second I've seen in action. Previously I never though much about those fairly rare dual channel RAM computers but this Vostro and the other has made me a believer in dual channel RAM.

Don't panic.You'll be able to get an enormous amount of support from forums for years to come.Why not upgrade one; the most powerful as 7 needs more CPU capability and much more RAM; and try it out.Even if you upgraded two of them I would always keep one with XP.Unless you want to buy touchscreens there is not much point in getting 8.

Switch to Mac. They will never let you down. I switched to Mac years ago and never looked back. They are much more consistent and do not have endless incompatible versions of operating systems. Help is always at hand. Just do it.

Now is the time to consider using and switching to Linux. Admittedly there are programs which are Windows based and there are sometimes issues with other hardware (largely just a few printers) by and large Linux will be adequate for the average home user. There are plenty of distros which can be downloaded and tried and tested. Just remember to save documents in Microsoft Office format for complete compatibility.

Personally I've been using Linux for years but still dual boot with Windows 7 which I do FOR THE SAKE OF SORTING OUT OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS. There's time to try lots of Linux and there are some exciting versions around.

I think I've been through all the MS Systems including a thing called "Centenary" or "Millenium" in 2000, and it always annoyed me that they could sell something and then make it workable (with updates)! What other business can do this? Rolls-Royce - "Here you are, your new car - It will work correctly in about 4 weeks - if you update correctly!"It took me a while, but now I've got my desktop on "Ubuntu" - works just great, and my new laptop on WIN7 and (apart from too many updates) and that works well too. I prefer Ubuntu for Linux, but you have to learn it all....!

I've been using Windows 7 since it was BETA, if fact I thought Beta was better than the finished article. I am running it on 3 laptops and two desktops. I built both the desktops for Windows 7 and two of the laptops came with Windows 7. The older Acer laptop came with Vista, but it was really an XP machine and I reinstalled it with XP x 64 as soon as I got it. It ran XP until I installed Windows 7 x 64 BETA and continued to run 64 bit until SP1. Then the drivers just wouldn't work and I had to install x 86 to keep it running Windows 7. Windows drivers seem to work fine for x 86, but no chance for x 64. If your running 64 bit on any of your computers, I would check if there are available drivers before doing anything, that is the weakness in upgrading.

I think that Windows 7 is a much better system than XP; but if you are into gaming, some of the older games might not work. I wouldn't abandon XP just because Windows finished supporting it. I never updated my XP beyond SP2 and never had a bit of bother. Updates can be more bother than they are worth. Some of the holes that suddenly get patched have been there since year one and nobody knew until Microsoft told everybody. I did run top security and kept it clean and tidy.

Windows 8 is a waste of time, if you not running a touchscreen. Its only Windows 7 with a load of silly apps on the desktop, to annoy people like me. Cant people think for themselves and have to have their shortcuts decided for them? Surely I cant be the only person on earth that doesn't Twitter and I get an email with a link if one of my friends writes on my Facebook page. I dont ever get a compulsion to tell everybody when I clean my teeth or comb my hair.

Personally I would run Win 7 pro or better (I myself wouldn't mess with any home version) with XP in a dual boot provided you have enough HDD space. My main system has a 500g drive and I have XP Pro (180g) on the first partition, Win 7 Ultimate (150g) on the 2nd partition and Linux Ubuntu on a 3rd partition (50g), the rest of the drive is just storage. I don't think * has been out long enough for MS to get the bugs out, but that's my opinion.

Never never go the windows 8 route unless you enjoy a challenge similar to learning a new language. Windows 8 is totally different to all that has gone before. It's nothing like Windows 7 were it just like learning to under stand a heavy northern accent for a southerner. You have to learn a completely different way of doing things so much it will take you ten times longer just to basic tasks if you can work out how to do it at all. One of the leading authorities in user interface system has slammed Microsoft but said he is waiting in anticipation for Windows 9 as Microsoft has a history of resolving these problems. I have personal experience in Windows 8 difficulties. My Mrs purchased a Window 8 lap top and after two weeks of trying to learn how to use it gave up and had it converted to Windows 7. I also gave up as was spending more time working out how to operate basic function that doing the task I had set out to do. Windows 8 is vastly different to anything before it is very user unfriendly, I have an iPad and the Mrs has a Galaxy 10.1 and we both converted to these user interfaces easily and quickly. So my advise is to wait for Microsoft to launch window 9 when hopefully they will have sorted all the problems out and Windows 8 will just be a bad memory. The other alternative is to buy an Apple and that is what I will do if Microsoft don,t sort themselves out when it's time for me to upgrade.

You have until 1/31/2013 to get windows 8 Pro upgrade as a direct download from Microsoft for $39.99.http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy?That's a lot cheaper than anything else you can purchase and actually make a real difference to the operation of your computer.Windows 8 is faster, smarter and more secure that what you're currently using and the price is certainly right. Is there a learning curve ? Yes but, you also had one when you first started using Windows XP or, have you forgotten ?

I've upgraded two of my computers to Windows 8 in the past couple months. One was an AMD 2.4Ghz single-core Sempron and the other an Intel 2.2Ghz dual-core Atom, with 3GB and 2GB of memory respectively. They both run great and better than with their previous operating systems (Vista and XP). It appears MS was actually able to optimize performance on lower-powered systems. As mentioned by bob3160, I took advantage of the upgrade price. Yeah, re-installing all of the apps was a pain...but it's interesting how many you'll probably end up not re-installing .

One thing - in my opinion installing Classic Shell on a Windows 8 is a MUST (http://www.classicshell.net/). It's free, you get back your Start button, and you can make your desktop the default start-up mode...did I mention it's free!

I too held off for as long as possible (and missed the Vista disaster) but had to relent because other software providers have already reduced their support.I am on Windows 7 now - and the earth is still revolving every 24 hours. Go for it!

I have 3 machines, two with XP and one with Windows 7. My new one (windows 7) constantly locks up. Reminds me of Windows 98, it is that unstable. But, if you have been allowing the automatic updates your XP has probably already been compromised. If you have decent antivirus software you do not need the updates. But you will not be able to update to the latest version of Internet Explorer.

I found that even though my one machine had Office 2003, not 2007 "updates" for 2007 were being downloaded and were corrupting some of the functions in my Office package. I could not uninstall the 2007 updates, gee, because I didn't have the 2007 CD to insert.

Just think about how easy it is for those updates to cause problems with XP, which really hasn't had real support for a while. So then you are forced to buy Windows 7 or Windows 8 just to keep your machine running and have support. I have controlled when the updates could download so that I would know if the "security updates" caused problems. For example, one update caused the settings in my Publisher to change so that I could not print something I had just printed the day before. I called and insisted on tech support for the update. We found that it had changed one of the advanced settings in Publisher. If you have ever debugged a program you would understand how the so-called "security updates" to the operating system can affect a number of settings.

Bottom line is that sooner or later you will have to update the operating system. Hopefully Microsoft did better with Windows 8. Skip Windows 7.

Personally I have never had a stability problem with Win 7 having done the Beta prior to using it as a regular basis OS. Win Vista was sluggish compared to Win Xp or Win 7, with a little tweaking Vista wasn't so bad. The absolute loser was ME, now that was unstable from the start. The older operating systems, 95, 98, 98 SE were far smaller and less functional compared to later variants but that was a different era, they served their purpose. As far as Win 8 is concerned, IF you use a touch screen system and are into tablets, go for it, I will purchase it and use it as an alternate in one of my systems, thrilled with it I am not. As for Linux, I have used it for years and tend to use it as much as I do Windows, it is a little trickier in some respects but is extremely functional and I highly recommend it. As for Mac, it is a good system, especially for graphics purposes and I have thought about doing a Mac and may in future but I don't like the costs of hardware and software over Windows but I do feel that Mac and Linux have Windows beat is some respects.

I've got Windows 7 at work at a laptop and at home at a desktop, and it has NEVER locked up and as far as I remember NEVER even given a BSOD. So it's very stable. You must have some hardware of software issue at your new PC. Better have it repaired while you still have warranty.

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